Microsoft wants to expand its Redmond Campus

Microsoft Corp. today filed a development agreement (DA) with the City of Redmond outlining its plans to make one of the largest corporate campuses in the world even larger through a major expansion of its Redmond headquarters. In the plan, Microsoft also commits up to $30 million (U.S.) in local transportation and infrastructure.

The DA indicates Microsoft's intent to add about 2 million square feet of new site and infrastructure renovations to its existing 8-million-square-foot campus over the next 10 to 20 years. The additional development is expected to ultimately house between 10,000 and 12,000 workers.

"Today's filing reflects the spirit of collaboration between Microsoft and the city of Redmond and further underscores our commitment to the Puget Sound region and to Washington state," said Brad Smith, Microsoft senior vice president. "Microsoft has been in the region for 25 years, and we are here to stay."

While Microsoft continues to grow globally, the company remains strongly committed to its roots. Microsoft expects to hire 6,000 to 7,000 new employees worldwide this fiscal year, and 3,000 of those are expected in the Puget Sound region alone.

City of Redmond Mayor Rosemarie Ives said, "Microsoft has been a good corporate citizen of Redmond for almost 20 years, and we're certainly happy that this is the city it chooses to call home and grow in. The fact that Microsoft intends to pursue a development agreement with the city indicates to us that it intends to grow in a planned and thoughtful way and that its commitment to Redmond is a strong one."

The plan calls for an enhanced "university-feel" at the Microsoft® campus, with outdoor common areas ringed by buildings. Assuming city approval, design for the first building will begin this year for occupancy in 2007.

The agreement does not define the specific location and timing for construction of each building; that will be determined based on future growth. Instead, the document supports a long-term collaborative approach to the city of Redmond officials, setting in place the regulatory terms for the development as well as defining related enhancements to local highways and other infrastructure.

Since Microsoft relocated its headquarters to Redmond in 1986, the city's population has increased by more than 30 percent, and now tops 46,000. More than 5,000 Microsoft employees reside in the city. At the same time, per-capita income has increased by more than 60 percent, and now exceeds $66,000, according to the 2000 census.

Almost half of Microsoft's worldwide employees work in the Puget Sound area. The company employs 28,000 workers in the region and nearly 30,000 in other locations. Last year, two-thirds of the company's total worldwide growth occurred in the Puget Sound region.